Mike Mentzer

[quote]ZEB wrote:
I attended a Mike Mentzer seminar one time. It was actually a pretty small group so we had the opportunity to interact with Mentzer.

At that seminar Mike taught the following things:

  1. A calorie is a calorie no matter where it comes from. Tuna fish or a doughnut it matters not!

  2. One warm up set and then one set to failure is all you need-If you did more you were over training.

  3. The longer that you have been training the less sets you should perform and the more rest you needed.

  4. He confessed, while his muscles were not nearly as strong as they looked “like some Powerlifter” (his words), “who wants to look like a Powerlifter?”

There is much more that he taught in this priceless seminar, but I think you guys get the idea. And let me add that they would not allow me to get my money back…

It has already been stated that Mike Mentzer built his physique by using high sets. And basically doing what every other body builder of his day did. He came up with his “incredible” system a few years after his greatest body building victories.

The fact that he created this “Heavy Duty” system is a great credit to his business acumen. However, his system and, as far as I’m concerned, entire philosophy was and is basically very wrong minded.

In fact, one could make a very strong case that if you did the exact opposite of what Mentzer preached you would probably have much more success (not what he did, but what he preached).

Those who think that they can derive any sort of benefit from anything Mentzer has to say (I feel) are quite mistaken.
[/quote]

What! The man had some GREAT ideas. Like…uh…umm…oh, shit, I know this one…

Seriously, though: the “calorie is a calorie” thing is just about the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard a bodybuilder say (and that’s saying something,) but the powerlifter thing is his opinion. I, for one, share it: I’d rather look like Mentzer (w/out the mustache) than that guy with the 1201 lb squat.

[quote]Professor X wrote:
ZEB wrote:
You should have lot’s of time to look it up as you are only doing one set to failure. :slight_smile:

(sorry couldn’t resist)

Gasp
How dare you make fun of this innocent poster?! He asks a legit question and all you do is throw degrading comments at him. I am appalled at this web site for allowing you heathens and bullies to post such nonsense!

Dear poster, I apologize on behalf of all of T-Nation for how RUDE, CRUDE and SOCIALLY UNACCEPTABLE some of these other posters are. To answer your question with gentle love and affection, Mike Mentzer weighed much more than a mouse than much less than an elephant. I do hope this helps in your quest for serious knowledge and, again, good luck to you.[/quote]

I think we need sensitivity classes and and some estrogen…

Or maybe we all just need a good cry…

[quote]Professor X wrote:
ZEB wrote:
You should have lot’s of time to look it up as you are only doing one set to failure. :slight_smile:

(sorry couldn’t resist)

Gasp
How dare you make fun of this innocent poster?! He asks a legit question and all you do is throw degrading comments at him. I am appalled at this web site for allowing you heathens and bullies to post such nonsense!

Dear poster, I apologize on behalf of all of T-Nation for how RUDE, CRUDE and SOCIALLY UNACCEPTABLE some of these other posters are. To answer your question with gentle love and affection, Mike Mentzer weighed much more than a mouse than much less than an elephant. I do hope this helps in your quest for serious knowledge and, again, good luck to you.[/quote]

What a brilliant start to Monday!

HIT websites are awesome. Typically they are made up of one or maybe two HIT veterans who have built themselves up to an amazing 170lbs - the most it has been proven that a natural trainee can attain before their liver explodes. The rest of the members are their disciples - people who used to train in the ‘high volume’ style, but now have seen the light and also want one of these 170lb frames. In between pseudo-philisophical ramblings that would make even the most pretentious Oxbridge student cringe, they have threads like this;

Wannabe 1: "please critique my new programme: Day one: 1 set of dips
Day thirty: 1 set of squats
Day sixty: repeat day 1

Veteran guru: “you’re in danger of over training doing squats and dips in the same quarter. Unless your smacked up on steroids then you need to replace the squats with leg exetensions and the dips with another rest day. Remember, when you perform leg extensions your hands generally grip the seat, causing stress to your forearms, shoulders and lats. You therefore don’t need to train these groups unless you’re into the gear. Good luck with your training young sparrow”.

Wannabe2: “veteran guru man is correct, and like, so cool his answers make my pee-pee tingle. I wish he was my wife”.

[quote]FightinIrish26 wrote:
Professor X wrote:
ZEB wrote:
You should have lot’s of time to look it up as you are only doing one set to failure. :slight_smile:

(sorry couldn’t resist)

Gasp
How dare you make fun of this innocent poster?! He asks a legit question and all you do is throw degrading comments at him. I am appalled at this web site for allowing you heathens and bullies to post such nonsense!

Dear poster, I apologize on behalf of all of T-Nation for how RUDE, CRUDE and SOCIALLY UNACCEPTABLE some of these other posters are. To answer your question with gentle love and affection, Mike Mentzer weighed much more than a mouse than much less than an elephant. I do hope this helps in your quest for serious knowledge and, again, good luck to you.

I think we need sensitivity classes and and some estrogen…

Or maybe we all just need a good cry…[/quote]

… and more cuddle parties.

[quote]juninho wrote:
HIT websites are awesome. Typically they are made up of one or maybe two HIT veterans who have built themselves up to an amazing 170lbs - the most it has been proven that a natural trainee can attain before their liver explodes.

The rest of the members are their disciples - people who used to train in the ‘high volume’ style, but now have seen the light and also want one of these 170lb frames. In between pseudo-philisophical ramblings that would make even the most pretentious Oxbridge student cringe, they have threads like this;

Wannabe 1: "please critique my new programme: Day one: 1 set of dips
Day thirty: 1 set of squats
Day sixty: repeat day 1

Veteran guru: "you’re in danger of over training doing squats and dips in the same quarter. Unless your smacked up on steroids then you need to replace the squats with leg exetensions and the dips with another rest day.

Remember, when you perform leg extensions your hands generally grip the seat, causing stress to your forearms, shoulders and lats. You therefore don’t need to train these groups unless you’re into the gear. Good luck with your training young sparrow".

Wannabe2: “veteran guru man is correct, and like, so cool his answers make my pee-pee tingle. I wish he was my wife”.

[/quote]

You rock man, that was hillarious!!:smiley:

I also love it when they end the sentence with “this is for people who know hard work” as if working a muscle group once a week is even in the same realm as three total-body sessions with plenty of volume. It’s classic.

I wasted a couple of my teenage years thinking that training more than one day a week was pushing it.